Christianity honors two great saints Antonie, an early one, of the Church of the East, and another closer to our times, of the Western Church, whose memory is still today. The article wishes to forestall the possible confusion of the two saints. It is, therefore, of St. Anthony the Great, the founder of monasticism and St. Anthony of Padua, one of the most popular saints of the Catholic world. That is why, to help with this potential dilemma, we will briefly present some data on two great sources of Christian wisdom and gentleness.

St. Anthony the Great

He lived between 251 and 356, being called the “father of the monks.” He is among the most popular ascetics and also considered to be the beginner of the monastic life. The monastic tradition consider him the founder of monasticism, along with St. Pachomius the Great. On January 17, in all Christian traditions, in the village of Come, Upper Egypt, in a wealthy family, Saint Anthony is born in the year 251. The family grows up after Christian teaching, and the little one seeks the path of the Church. Years after the death of his parents as he went to church, Antony thought of the good deeds of other Christians, the holy apostles, and his way in life. When he entered the house of the Lord, the Savior’s words read: “Do you want to be perfect, go, sell all your possessions and give them to the poor, then come and follow me “(Matthew 19, 21). Thus young divides his wealth to the poor, let his little sister in the care of faithful maidens and choose the path of prayer, a life withdrawn. First, Antonie is in an emergency with an old man next to his native village, then decides to adopt himself in an empty tomb, during which he takes a life of prayer, harsh with bread, salt and water. At 35, the Saint arrives in Pispir, a deserted fortress, a place on the edge of the desert to stay as reluctant as possible. Twenty years later, St. Anthony goes to another place on the right bank of the Nile in the desert, where he sets himself to the end of his life, 356th. St. Anthony is the first monk to go to the wilderness, he was the leader of many monks, scholars and kings healed many people, fought against Arianism and tradition gives him as the founder of monasticism.

Saint Anthony of Padua

In 1195 on the Day of Lady’s Assumption on 15 August, in Lisbon, Portugal, Ferdinand comes to the world of a wealthy family. He, at the age of 15, enters St. Augustine’s regular canonics by participating in the activities of a monastery near Lisbon for two years to go to a monastery in Coimbra, while devoting himself to the study of theology, the Holy Scriptures , A process of intellectual perfection. This fruitful activity will be useful to him in the sermons he will later support in France and Italy, and will bring the appreciation of Pope Gregory IX, which he will call “the Ark of the Testament,” for the good knowledge of Holy Scripture . Are brought to Portugal from Morocco in 1220, the bodies of five Franciscan monks who were martyred for preaching Christianity. This event causes young Ferdinand to enter the Franciscan Order to go to preach the Christian Teach among the unbelievers, to acquire the martyr’s crown in Morocco. Upon entering the new order, Ferdinand chose the name of Anton, in honor of the great monk of St. Anthony the Great. Anton arrives in Morocco, but due to health problems he has to return to Portugal, only the Lord’s plans are for the young monk and a strong sea storm heading for the ship in Sicily, Italy. In Italy and France, until 1231, the monk preaches Christian teachings, so many people turning to the Lord listened to the words of heretics or have lost the path to it. There are many stories about the miracles Anton has done to show the truth of the Scriptures, the resurrection of some people and other important facts. We will remember the sermon the monk kept in the fish in one part of Italy, saying: “For men are not worthy to obey the Word of God, I will speak to you, the fish.” And he continued his speech to the fish about the goodness of God, and the creatures drew his head out of the water to obey him. And this happened made the people to repent for their unbelief. In 1232, Pope Gregory IX canonized him and thus Anton became holy, and Pope Pius XII, in 1946, declared him the teacher of the Church by awarding the title “Doctor Evanghelicus.” The name St. Anthony of Padua is due to the many sermons and miracles that the monk did in the Italian city area. St. Anthony of Padua is celebrated by the Catholic Church on June 13th.